Contact member for sockets of plug and socket devices



Jan. 30, 1940. s. M.' DEL CAMP CONTACT MEMBERFOR SOCKETS 0F PLUG AND SOCKET DEVICES Original Filed May 15, 1937 I Inveni'oz Jca'pionefl, 17626072; .1 55

Patented Jan. 30, 1940 UNITED STATES CONTACT MEMBER FOR- SOCKETS OF PLUG AND SOCKET DEVICES Soipione M. Del Camp,

Maywood, Ill., assignor to CinchManufacturing Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Original application May 15, 1937, Serial No.

142,857. Divided and this application-February 1, 1938, Serial No.

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in electric plug and socket devices. One object of my invention is to produce an electrical connection having an outer protective shield preventing any damage of the interengaging contact members of the plug and socket de vices. v

Another object of my invention is to provide plug and socket devices having outer shield 'members constructed in a way to be interengaged when the respective contact members of the devices are in electrical contact thereby causing a continuous metal shielding of the electrical connection.

A further object of my invention is to provide a socket device of which the component parts are of relatively simple construction and may be assembled quickly and easily'without the aid of machines.

Other objects and uses of my invention will be apparent from inspection of the drawing and the specification hereinbelow set forth.

This application is a divisional of my co-pending application, Serial No. 142,857, filed May 15, 1937, issued as Patent 2,180,923 on November 21, 1939.

Referring to the drawing, in which I have illustrated a preferred form of my invention:

Figure 1 is a front view of my improved electrical connection showing the plug device in position to be moved into electrical engagement with the socket device;

Fig. 2 is a section taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

showing the parts in electrical engagement, the

contact member of the plug device being shown in full;

Fig. 4 is a rear view of the retainer part of assembly therewith;

Fig. 5 is a front view of the assembly shown in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of my retainer part per se;

Fig. '7 is a front perspective of my preferred contact member;

Fig. 8 is a rear perspective of the contact member shown in Fig. '7;

Fig. 9 is a front view of a modified form of contact member;

Fig. 10 is a plan view of a modifiedform of plug device;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged plan section taken on 68 the line HH of Fig, 3;

Fig. 3 is a section similar to that of P18. 2

my socket device showing a contact member in Fig. '12 is a section taken along the line |2 |z of Fig. 9; and

Fig. 13 is a section taken along the line lS-li of Fig. 9.

. Referring to the drawing, my preferred electrical connection, as illustrated in Figs. 1-3,' comprises a socket device land a plug device 2. The socket device I comprises a socket contact member 3, a retainer part 4 of' insulating materialQwith which the contact'member 3 is assembled, and an outer metal shell 5 adapted, in my preferred device, to enclose completely the retainer part and contact member assembled therewith. My preferred plug device comprises a metal shield member 6, an insulating plate 1 secured to one end of the shield member, and a tubular prong 8. carried by the insulating plate and adapted for cooperating electrical engagement with the socket contact 3 of the socket device. The metal shell 6 is provided with yieldable fingers adapted to resiliently engage the material adjacent an end' of the shell 5 of the socket device when. the contact members are in electrical engagement thus causing a continuous metal shielding of the'connection.

Referring in detail to the component parts of my socket device, the retainer part 4, as most clearly shown in Figs. 4 6, comprises, in my preferred form, a substantially tubular body portion 9 having an apron l0 formed as a continuation of one end of the tubular portion 9. The apron I0 is preferably of less thickness than the tubular portion thereby providing a face II on the inner side of the retainer at the junction of the apron ill with the tubular portion, as most clearly shown in Figs. 2 and ,3. As a means for providing access to a wire-receiving terminal of the socket contact 3 when the last-mentioned part is assembled with the 're-' tainer, I have formed a notch l2 (Figs. Sand 6) extending from the free end of the apron 10 toward its junction with the tubular portion 9.

The material adjacent the inner end of the slot l2 forms an abutment l3-adapted to be engaged by a fastener means [of the metal shell 5 for securing the shell'to' the retainer part, as will be hereinafter more fully described. 'At the other end of the tubularportion 9 from that from which the apron" l0 extends I have provided a notch l4 extending from adjacent the outermost free end of the tubular portion toward the apron ID. The side of the tubular portion 9 in i which the notchis disposed has, in my preferred form, a cut-away portion 15 (Figs. 2, 3 and 6)- providing a substantially flat surface against which the flat face of an attaching portion 01 the socket contact member 3 may abut.

The socket contact member 3, a preferred form of which is shown in Figs. 7 and 8 of the drawingfhas a prong-receiving portion comprising a back portion l6 and side portions extending from the sides of the back portions and being bent to form an enclosed region with their free edges separated throughout their entire length. A wire-receiving terminal |8, formed as' aprolongation of the back portion l6, has notches l9 and an opening 26 at its lower end (Figs. 5 and '7) for attachment of the desired leads or conductors thereto. As a means for securing my socket contact member in assembly with the retainer part I, I have provided a hook portion 2| integral with the free end of the back. portion l6 of the prong-receiving portion at the opposite end of the back portion from that from which the wirereceiving terminal l8 extends. The hook portion 2| has an outwardly-extending portion '22'and a 7 free end portion 23, which last-mentioned portion extends downwardly in substantially parallel relation to the back portion I 6. A resilient finger 24 is formed from the material of the wire-receiving terminal "3 and extends outwardly from the plane of the terminal I8 on the samejside of the contact member as that upon which the hook-shaped portion 2| is disposed. The outer extremity of the finger portion 24 is spaced from the outwardly-extending portion 22 of the hook portion 2|, a distance substantially equal to the length of the tubularportion 9 of the retainer part, for purposes of assembly.

The modified form of contact member 3 illustrated in Figs. 9, 12 and 13 differs from my preferred form in that insteadof providing a single prong-receiving portion, I have provided two pairs of prong-receiving portions l6 and I1, each of which is adapted to receive a contact prong of different diameter. Each of the prongreceiving portions l6 and I1 comprises a pair of side portions |'I extending from the sides 01' the common back portion l6 and being bent to form enclosed regions of different diameters (Figs. 12 and 13) with the free edges of said respective pairs separated throughout their entire length. The prong-receiving portions l6 and are preferably disposed one below the other with the lower prong-receiving portion adapted to receive a pin-like prong of smaller diameter than the upper prong-receiving portion. As a result of the construction of my modified form of contact member, I have provided a device which is very useful in connection with testing equipment, as, for example, testing vibrators for automobile radios wherein there are a variety of vibrators in use having pin-like contact prongs of varied diameters.

Assembly of the contact member 3 with the retainer part 6 is a relatively simple matter and is carried out without the use of machinery through moving the terminal end of the contact member into the body of the tubular portion 9 at that end of the tubular portion having the notch M with the hook-shaped portion 2| in superposed relation to the notch. 'During passage of the terminal I8 of the contact member through the bore of the tubular portion, the yieldable finger 24 will contract until the outwardly extending portion 22 of the hook portion engages the material of the tubular portion adjacent the inner end of the notch M, at which time the finger portion passes the end of the tubular portion and expands so that the extremity of the finger portion substantially abuts the face ll of the tubular portion (Figs. 2 and 3). The socket contact member is now in secure assembly with the retainer part with the inner fiat side of the free end portion 23 of the hook-shaped portion 2 in engagement with the flat cut-away face I5 of the retainer part (Figs. 2 and 3). Rotation of the contact member relative to the retainer part is prevented through reason of engagement of the hook-shaped portion 2| with the retainer walls adjacent opposed sides of the notch M.

The metal shell 5, adapted to shield and protect the socket contact member, has, in my preferred' form, an elongated tubular body portion 25 and a neck portion 26 at one end. The neck portion 26 has a smaller diameter than that of the retainer part thereby serving to limit movement of the retainer part in one direction through the tubular body portion 26. A metal shield device 26! (Fig. 3) of any suitable form for covering insulated wire (not shown) may be soldered or otherwise secured to the other end of the body portion 25 iromthe neck 26 after the retainer part has been assembled with the metal shield. An attaching means in the form of a yieldable finger 28 extends inwardly out of the plane of the body portion 25 at a distance relative to the neck portion 26 which is substantially equal to the distance between the free end oi-the retainer part [having the notch l4 and the abutment |3 adjacent the notch |2 in the apron l0. After a wire or suitable lead means (not shown) has been connected to the wire-receiving terminal I8 of the socket contact member, theretainer part 4 is quickly and easily assembled with the metal shell 5 through moving an end of the retainer part into the neckless end of the tubular portion 25 and forcing the retainer part along the bore of the tubular portion in the direction of the neck 26. During movement of the retaim ing part through the bore of the tubular portion, the spring finger 28 is contracted until the free end of the tubular portion 9 of the retainer part abuts the neck portion 26, at which time the finger 28 expands so that its extreme end is in substantial engagement with the abutment l3 adjacent the inner end of the slot 2 of the retainer part, as most clearly shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Referring now to my preferred plug device as illustrated in Figs. 1-3, I have provided a metal shield member 6 which, in my preferred form, has a flared end portion 30. An angular series of relatively straight yieldable fingers 3| extend from the flared portion 30 in a direction substantially parallel with the axis of the metal shield member 6. Projecting means 32 extend inwardly from each of the fingers 3| cooperating with the flared portion 30 of the metal member to hold the insulating plate 1 in assembly with the flared end of the metal member. The contact prong 8 carried by the insulating plate 1 extends beneath the extreme ends of the yieldable fingers 3| and is adapted for cooperative electrical engagement with the. socket contact member 3 of the socket device. An opening 33 (Fig. 2) is provided at the other end of the metal member 6 from the flared end which has a diameter large enough to allow the entrance of a wire or group of wires (not shown) into the metal member for attachment to the prong 8. A metallic wire-protective device 21 may be per manently secured to the end of the metal member adjacent the opening 33, as shown in Fig. 3.

In connecting my preferred plug and socket socket devices.

If a continuous metal shielding of the electrical connection shouldnot bedesired, a modi- A fied plug member may be provided, as shown in Fig. 10, having a cup-shaped retainer part 34 of insulating material carrying a contact prong 35 which extends from one end of the part 34. If such a plug member is used, the construction of the metal shell 5 of the socket device may be modified slightly through omitting the neck 26 and merely turning the free end of the tubular portion 25 inwardly so as to reduce the diameter' of the tubular portion at one end for preventing the retainer part from passing through the end. In such a case my modified metal shell would serve merely to protect the retainer part and socket contact member from injury, it not then being adapted to serve as a component part of a continuous shielding device for keeping out external electrical interferences.

Thus by my invention I have provided an improved electrical connection comprising component parts of simple construction which may be easily assembled together to. form eflicient plug and socket devices for carrying out-the desired purposes. I realize that parts of the respective stud and socket members could be interchanged and many other modifications of the particular construction and uses of my invention made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and for that reason my invention is best defined by the following claims.

I claim: n 1. A one piece contact member for attachment to an insulating support-having a notched upper edge; said contact member comprising a substantially tubular body split longitudinally along one side thereof and providing a prong-receiving portion, an integral depending apron extending below said tubular portion on a sideremote from said slot and providing a wire-receiving terminal spaced below and in alignment with said prong-receiving portion. a hook-shaped member integral'with the prong-receiving portion at the end opposite the wire-receiving terminal and having ,a part for extension laterally therefrom through the notch in said support .and then downwardly a substantial distance in engagement with the back of the support to prevent lateral displacement of the upper end ofsaid prong-receiving portion relative'to said support, and additicnal'means integral with said contact member and spaced from said hook-shaped memher for engaging said support. to prevent upward displacement of said contact member relative to'the support and cooperating with said hookshaped member for maintaining said contact member in proper aligned position on the support.

g 2. A contact member formedfrom sheet metal and having a contact-receiving portion provided with a back portion and a pair of .side portions, said side portions being-divided by a slit longitudinally of the device, each of said side portions being divided by a slit extending from the firstmentioned slit in a generally transversedirection toward the back portion to provide two' pairs of side portions extending from said back portion and being independently yieldable to engage a pin-like contact, the area enclosed by one set of side portions and the back portion being larger than the area enclosed by the other set of side portions and'back portion, said contact member having integral attaching means and an integral soldering lug. V i

V SCIPIONE M. DEL CAMP; 

